Children of Van Helsing

Chapter Thirty-two - Spirits in the Graveyard

Regina

Did I feel guilty? Yes. Did I mind? No. My plan was working out perfectly. No time to stop and think about what I was actually doing.

Lola was a very good help. She had told me about Susanna and Ian thoroughly - that she still worried about him liking me more a bit, which she just told him, and he denied it; that they kissed, but nothing more than that, though Ian had tried; that Susanna always looked a bit jealous when I was talking to him and we laughed. She also warned me when Susanna went to his room, so that I could put my scarf or earring there, or the letter I had written, to confuse her. Lola also warned me when she was walking to a room where me and Ian were, so that I could start tickling him or say something funny, so that when she walked in, she saw us together, having fun.

When she saw us one day, she went jealous and suddenly sat on his lap, something which she normally never did. So it was working! And a few hours ago, I had told her the biggest lie; That Ian had tried to kiss me.

I was sure they were going to break up soon. And then, they hadn't lasted a week! As soon as they did, I could get Ian. And I would have to let Lola go. But how...?

Worries for later.

Sacha was now drinking every single bottle of animal blood we gave her. She was getting better - no screaming or swearing or growling. I sometimes talked to her. She just answered regularly. But we still kept the door closed and made sure she didn't see us too much, just in case she went crazy by seeing our necks.

I still practiced with Helen. I could now easily see and hear the spirits, even at the same time. I could move the dust the way I wanted to, but it still cost me lots of energy and I was almost permanently tired. But I kept going. We all knew the consequences of an uprising - vampires everywhere, panic in the city, quickly spreading all over the world. As soon as one vampire had decided to go up and take over, the others would follow and there would be blood everywhere.

Yes, that image scared me.

So I practiced. A lot. I could turn the whole 'seeing and hearing the spirits' thing on and off quickly now. According to Helen, I was getting stronger. And it felt that way. Even when I didn't see it, I felt the presence of the spirit dust around me. Like an invisible force following me everywhere.

One time, Helen took me to a graveyard. It was very cold and the snow gave everything a very spooky look. I couldn't help but shiver. Now that I had these necromantic abilities, I was more aware of the dead around me.

We sat down on a bench.

"Alright, you can see the restless spirits, right?" Helen said, with her funny Texan accent. I nodded.

"Go ahead. Are there any here?"

I quickly set my mind free and blinked a few times. There they were. Two in total, black and vague. Their shape wasn't very clear, which meant they were very old and probably going to completely fade and turn into spirit dust soon. Two men. One wandered around a grave in circles, over and over again, his hollow eyes staring into the abyss. He mumbled something I couldn't understand. It sounded like a foreign language. The other one was the oldest. He seemed like an old man. His empty eyes in his black face stared into the sky and he just stood there, never moving.

Spirits seemed to be made out of spirit dust. Their bodies were twisting and moving and sometimes almost faded, but they were definitely people. Like the spirit dust had packed together and had become a person.

"Only two." I said.

Then I blinked and the spirits, along with the spirit dust surrounding them, disappeared as quickly as they had come.